Bao Maohong (Professor, Department of History, Peking University)
In the history of the world, the British Empire was once a unique existence. At its peak, the British Empire was 125 times the size of Britain and had a population of 1/4 of the world's population. If you count the English from the time they moved to ireland in the Aalstad region of Ireland in the early 17th century, the British Empire went through a number of stages of rise, formation, expansion, decline, collapse, etc., until the end of 1997. In the past 400 years, the British Empire has performed a drama of sadness and joy on the stage of world history, sometimes majestic and majestic, proud of the crowd, sometimes detached from Germany, helpless. However, this rich and colorful opera, written by the British colonists and colonies and the peoples of the dependent countries, was once dismembered from the perspective of the suzerainty or from the colonial point of view, which was very interesting. In recent years, the study of the history of the British Empire has undergone a "network" or "cultural" turn, and the complex history has been largely reconstructed. Corresponding to the complexity of history itself is the tome and multi-volume compilation of history, which is naturally unattainable for professional historians, but for the vast majority of readers, a concise and concise, novel perspective, suitable for the needs of the times, both academic and readable is the need to learn the knowledge of world history, but also the need to care for reality and think about the future from history. Professor Shigeru Akita's Minimalist History of the British Empire: Reflections from Asia is one such book.
A unique perspective: a global history from Asia
In traditional historical narratives, the most common perspectives are the history of the nation-state and the history of the world. The history of the nation-state takes the nation-state as the basic unit and describes its rise and fall. World history nominally narrates the history of the whole world, but in practice it becomes a mixture of the histories of the world's great powers, or reduces the complex history to several modes of production to cover the history of the great powers or regions. Obviously, the British Empire was neither a nation-state nor a world as a whole, but an objective existence in between. After the First World War, with the rise of nationalism, nationalist historiography gradually became a history with the national liberation movement against colonialism and imperialism as the main object of writing, and was in direct opposition to imperial historiography and colonial historiography. This bipolar thinking changed with the collapse of colonial empires and the establishment of a new world system, and was gradually incorporated into the world system theory, evolving into a world system that saw the world from the suzerainty and the attachment theory that looked at the world from the colonies. Interestingly, these two seemingly opposing perspectives end up in some way the same way, with the former developing the idea that the periphery can rise to a semi-marginal or semi-central perspective, and the latter proposing a new interpretation of the development of dependency. Obviously, it is still The Eurocentrism, which is not a theory that can be willingly accepted for the former colonies and protectorates who have gained national independence, and for the vast number of developing countries now.
People of the British Empire traveled by boat to South Africa
As far as the study of the history of the British Empire is concerned, two books cannot be ignored, namely the eight-volume Cambridge History of the British Empire and the five-volume Oxford History of the British Empire. Published between 1929 and 1959, the first three volumes are a chronological overview of the history of the British Empire, and the last five are divided into different colonies and dominions. Although the third volume was not published until 1959, the narrative was still described as originally planned until 1925. It can be seen from this that this is a series of books planned before the turning point in the history of the British Empire, so it is not a complete general history of the British Empire, but also full of blind optimism, which largely reflects the imperial and colonial historical views that prevailed in the 19th century. The most prominent of these are loyalty to and promotion of the noble purpose of establishing the British Empire, a strong belief in the great value of the British Empire to the history and future of mankind, and adherence to the British-centric view and Anglo-Saxon values. The latter was published in 1999, and has since been followed by a series of guides that complement the lack of chronological accounts of the history of the British Empire from a thematic perspective and provide an in-depth analysis of topics that cannot be discussed in general history. According to editor-in-chief Roger Lewis, the purpose of editing the five-volume Oxford History of the British Empire is to provide a comprehensive overview of the rise and fall of the British Empire, to explore the implications of British imperialism for the rulers and the ruled, and to study the significance of the history of the British Empire as a theme of world history. Compared with the Cambridge History of the British Empire, which was mainly written during the interwar period, the Oxford History of the British Empire is not only a complete general history, but also broadens the scope of study according to the needs of the times, and more importantly, it makes a relatively complete discussion of the history of the British Empire, seeing both the historical role of the British as rulers and the historical initiative of the local people as the ruled. After entering the new century, the study of the history of the British Empire gradually formed a new paradigm in the process of expanding the theme, such as network theory, that is, to see the British Empire as a whole formed by the network, in which any node may become the center. In other words, the whole may also be centerless. To a certain extent, this effectively broke through the Eurocentrism or polar opposition in the study of british empire history, and brought it into a new realm.
Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan has been paying attention to the study of British history and the history of the British Empire. After Japan became an imperialist country, it cooperated with Britain in international affairs and the division of colonies. The modernization theory and Marxist historiography that emerged in post-war Japan are based on British history, exploring the similarities and differences between Japanese and East Asian history and British history. However, with the rapid rise of Japan again, Japanese academics are no longer satisfied with following the Westerners in interpreting history, but instead seek the subjectivity of Japanese and East Asian history. Using the ecological theory of Nishi NishiKiji, Tadao Umehi put forward the ecological history of civilization, pointing out that Japan's entry into modern times was not the result of imitating Britain, but parallel with Britain. On this basis, Kawakatsu Hirata used Wallerstein's theory of the world system to put forward a civilized view of maritime history, pointing out that capitalism was conceived from the asian seas, and Japan's industrialization was from the de-Chineseization of import substitution to the export-oriented industrialization of the dominant East Asian economy. The most important thinking transmitted by these pioneering studies is to rethink the history of the modern world from the perspective of Japan and East Asia and highlight the role of Japan and East Asia in it, and then reposition it, so as to form an academic position commensurate with Japan's economic position in the world.
Steam hammers during the British Industrial Revolution
Professor Shigeru Akita also adopted this line of thinking, looking at the history of the British Empire from an Asian perspective. At the same time, he drew on the lens of global history, focusing on the connection between the British Empire and the British Empire and comparing different regions and different types of colonies. For example, the Industrial Revolution in Britain was undoubtedly a very important event in the history of England and the history of the British Empire, but different conclusions can be drawn from different perspectives. In simple terms, if interpreted from within British history, it emphasizes the leading role of technological and institutional innovation, emphasizing that the Industrial Revolution led to the transformation of the British Empire from mercantilism to a free trade empire. However, observing the British Industrial Revolution from the perspective of global history will emphasize the important role played by capital accumulation and market demand brought about by global trade, and then find that the British Industrial Revolution is actually an import substitution industrialization implemented in response to the impact of Asian products, thus highlighting the importance of Asian trade and property, and to a certain extent, dissolving Eurocentrism. By broadening, using a global historical perspective from Asia, it is possible to paint a different picture from the history of the British Empire compiled by the British. It is unique in that, first, it highlights the dynamic and important role of Asia, especially East Asia and India, in the rise and fall of the British Empire. Second, from the perspective of its connection with Asia, it re-understood the dynamics of expansion and contraction of the British Empire. Third, with a focus on India, the complex relationship between South Asia as part of the visible empire and East Asia as part of the invisible empire is reconstructed. Fourth, by exploring Asia in the history of the British Empire, it provides a historical basis for understanding the rise of post-war Asia.
Main content: A narrative of global economic history
In 1984, Japan held a conference of the Society for Socio-Economic History on the formation and construction of the modern Asian trade circle. Influenced by Kakuyama's scholarship, Kaoru Sugihara, Takeshi Hamashita, and Heitai Kawakatsu started from different perspectives and regions, focusing on the Asian economic circle or the intra-Asian trade circle. Kaoru Sugihara discusses intra-Asian trade with a focus on India, and then compares it with asian and European trade, concluding that intra-Asian trade surpassed Asia-Europe trade before 1880, refuting the traditional view that Europe had forced Asia into modern times. Hamashita explores the history of the Asian economic circle with a focus on China, with tributary trade as the core, revealing the hidden history of the Asian economic circle that European colonists had to resort to economically when they came east. Katsuhira Kawakatsu analyzes the unique path of Japan's industrialization with a focus on Japan, pointing out that Japan's industrialization has developed a unique path by using intra-Asian trade and combining products to achieve import substitution and export orientation on the basis of the diligent revolution of the Edo period. Although their research has different emphases and different perspectives, they all discover the continuity and autonomy of Asian history through the study of intra-Asian trade, challenging the traditional view that only sees people and institutions and does not see property, with obvious Eurocentric colors.
The research results of the socio-economic historiography school have had an important academic impact both inside and outside Japan. In Japanese academic circles, there has been a discussion about how to think about Asia and how to think about Japan's position in Asia and the world in the history of the world economy. In this process, the division of continental Asia and maritime Asia was gradually formed, and the position of Japan in the Asian regional order was gradually clarified, and a logical historical basis was found for where Japan was going. In other words, one of the purposes of the study of Japan's world economic history is to find a way out for Japan as a "semi-sovereign country" based on history, and at the same time to highlight Japan's important position in the history of the world economy. In the international academic community, the research of Japanese scholars has played a groundbreaking role in the rise of the "California School" to some extent. California School scholars have changed the time and dynamics of the great divergence between China and the West through comparative studies and a focus on holistic connections. In comparison, Peng Mulan proposed the important role played by chance factors in the diversion of England and China's Jiangnan, breaking through Eurocentrism to a certain extent. In the overall study, Gund Frank portrays the central position of Asia in the world economy before 1800 years and the process and principle of how Europe profited from Asian trade, which is actually a re-understanding of the different roles and status changes of Eurasia from the perspective of global history.
Judging from Professor Akita's academic resume, he is also one of the indispensable ensembles of this symphony. In the late last century, he studied the history of the economic relations between the British Empire and India. After entering the new century, the scope of research has expanded, focusing on Asian economic relations and the issue of Asia-Europe diversion from the perspective of global history. In addition, he also actively translates the relevant research results of European and American scholars, and has also visited the University of London twice to publish his academic research results in English. From this perspective, his research has actually merged into the international trend of related research, and the 2012 issue of Minimalist History of the British Empire: Reflections from Asia is a unique result of this trend.
The life of a British family in Calcutta, India. They used many Indian servants and lived neither purely British nor Indian life, but a mixture of two forms of lifestyle.
As far as economic history is concerned, the history of the British Empire mainly includes three dimensions: the economic ties within the Empire and its escalation, the economic relations of the British Empire with the rest of the world, and the relationship between the Imperial Economy and politics, military and strategy. Economic relations within the British Empire involved trade, property, and finance. These three aspects not only led to changes in the British economic structure, but also promoted the expansion, contraction, and even collapse of the British Empire. Among them, britain's economic relations with the Indian colonies, Indian colonies with China and Japan as an informal empire, or the economic relations between the British Empire and the Asian trading circle, played an important role in both the British economy and the evolution of the British Empire's economy. Although the British Empire was a world empire, its economic relations with other countries, especially the Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires, the Dutch colonial empire, the French colonial empire, the American empire, and the Japanese empire, could not be ignored. Specifically, it was in economic competition with the European colonial powers of the same period that the British Empire was established, and it was in the financial competition with the American Empire that the British Empire disintegrated. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance financially helped Japan defeat the Russian Empire, but in the Pacific War Japan devoured the British Empire and even gradually eroded the British-dominated situation in post-war foreign aid (the Colombo Plan). The economy sometimes functioned independently in the empire's surpluses and contractions, but in many cases it worked together with political, military, strategic, and diplomatic. Whether colonization was earned or lost not only affected the colonial policy of the empire, but also largely determined the composition of the empire. But economic conditions were not the only factors affecting empires; in many cases, strategic considerations, colonial revolts, and the balance of military power all played a role in economic relations.
In short, Professor Akita continued the Japanese economic historians' thinking of focusing on the role of economic history and economic linkages, and on the basis of his own research results accumulated over the years and the achievements of drawing on the research of Japanese economic history and the California School, he structured the history of the British Empire with his own characteristics. This has changed to some extent the current situation in the study of the history of the British Empire that focuses on the role of political and military and strategic factors, but does not ignore the role of other factors and internal and external relations while emphasizing the role of production, trade and finance. In other words, The Minimalist History of the British Empire is a history based on the history of the global economy and highlights the overall history of the British Empire's economic ties with Asia.
Concise: A fusion of academic history and a sense of context
Sketching the history of the rise and fall of the British Empire in a limited space is not an easy task, and it is even more difficult to balance scholarship and readability. A Minimalist History of the British Empire proposes the necessity of understanding the history of the British Empire from the perspective of understanding the practical needs of the changes in the international situation, and has attracted the attention of readers at all levels. However, historians' works cannot but pay attention to scholarship, but they cannot be written in the way of special works, and the author adopts a combination of academic history introduction and scenario writing to balance the tension between academic and readable. An introduction to academic history enables readers to understand the author's research in the context of academic genealogy, and also provides clues and possibilities for readers to think further. Scenarioization not only increases the reader's interest in reading and obtains a sense of immersion, but also helps to go deep into the historical scene, form historical thinking, and deepen the understanding of historical interpretation. It can be said that the "Minimalist History of the British Empire" is a concise and concise general history of the British Empire with prominent points and characteristics, which is not boring and thought-provoking to read.
As a nation and country that suffered greatly from colonialism and imperialism, the study of the history of colonialism in China has gone through different stages of development. With the rise of the anti-colonial national liberation movement, Chinese academic circles have focused on exposing and criticizing the evils of colonialism and colonial rule, and demonstrating the rationality and justice of the national liberation movement. With the launch of reform and opening up, China's academic circles have gradually shifted the focus of research to the relationship between colonialism and modernization, and under the guidance of the "dual mission" theory, they have changed the orientation of focusing on exposing and criticizing the destructiveness of colonialism, and have instead appropriately explored its constructive side, and established a dialectical unity relationship between the two. As far as the history of the British Empire is concerned, although this term is familiar, the real academic research is relatively lagging behind, most of which is to conduct a special study of a certain aspect of the history of the British Empire from the perspective of the previous colonies and protectorates under the framework of the history of colonialism, especially when China and Britain negotiated on the return of Hong Kong, a small climax of studying the history of the British Empire was set off, and the domestic academic community also translated some works published by foreign scholars in different periods with different emphasis and different styles. Until 2019, the eight-volume "History of the British Empire" edited by Professor Qian Chengdan was published, presenting Chinese scholars' systematic research and their own thinking on the history of the British Empire. This provides academic support and reference for Chinese readers to fully understand the history of the British Empire and its impact on the world.
Even so, in an era of globalization and fast-pacedness, the concise and concise History of the British Empire, with a focus on economic history and an Asia perspective, is irreplaceable and worth reading for Chinese readers and deeper reflection on the issues raised.
Editor-in-Charge: Yu Shujuan
Proofreader: Yijia Xu